Aimee Optimistic about Travel Career

Having secured her dream job in the travel industry just before the country went into the first lockdown, Aimee Caldwell, from Bangor is optimistic about her career in the sector now that the vaccination programme is well underway across Europe. (@S_ERC)

Aimee, 23, progressed to SERC from St Columbanus.   Aimee had chosen A Levels but decided this was not the route for her.   She said, “I came to SERC and did a hospitality and catering course and from there, I decided I wanted to focus more on tourism, so I enrolled on the Level 3 Travel and Tourism. The range of courses and style of learning at SERC was a much better fit for me.  

She added, “I really enjoyed the course – it was one of the best I ever did. The class was small, so we all gelled immediately, and there was a lovely friendly atmosphere in the class and great encouragement from the tutors.

“I particularly enjoyed the great variety in the course, so you weren’t stuck in front of a computer every day.   As well as learning about popular visitor attractions at home and abroad, you learn the principles of marketing for travel and tourism and the trends and key issues for tourism.

“One of the best parts of studying through SERC was having access to further travel opportunities. I applied for the Erasmus Programme and was lucky enough to supplement my studies by spending two weeks in Tenerife as part of my course. Whilst there, I was learning about marketing a destination such as Tenerife, website design, photography and selling the holiday as a product.   It was a fantastic experience as you are totally immersed in the culture and see why it is such a popular visitor destination. I made some good friends with students from other SERC campuses who were also on the trip and I think the experience, along with my course, gave me the edge when it came to applying for jobs.

Aimee continued, “We had lots of guest speakers throughout the course which was really valuable in that you got to hear first-hand about the variety of roles, opportunities and routes you could take into the industry.   It was through one of these sessions with a guest speaker from Oasis Travel in Bangor that I set my aspirations to work there.   When I had completed my course and a job came up, I immediately applied and was delighted to secure a Travel Executive position.   My role involves helping people plan and book their holiday, mostly to Europe and Dubai.

Aimee said, “Whilst I have been furloughed, I have been keeping my skills and knowledge up.   I am keen to get back to work and I am optimistic that now the vaccination programme is well underway across Europe, tourism will open up again and people will be back to planning and booking holidays.

Asked if there was any destination she would recommend?   Aimee said, “I would certainly recommend a visit to Greece – Santorini or Mykonos would be high up on my list.”   As for Aimee’s dream holiday? “I would love to visit Cambodia.   It is so different from anywhere I have every been so I think it would be an amazing cultural experience.”